TheBCS
IT Industry Awards2007 bring together for the
first time the British Computer Society, the National Computing
Centre and Intellect in recognising the contribution made by the IT
profession to economic prosperity, business efficiency and public
services.
The awards also combine the
BCS
Information Management Awards and the
BCS IT
Professional awards into a single event and were open to
projects and individuals working in information technology based in
or operating mainly from companies located in the UK or Europe.
Over 200 entrants are competing for individual, organisational
and project excellence awards in 23 categories, but what makes a
winner? Several key attributes, according to this year's moderators
of the judging in the competition's three main sections.
Above all, the judges drawn from the BCS, NCC, Intellect, award
sponsors and industry peers, were looking for companies and
individuals doing something special that was above the industry
norm, but focussing on particular aspects for each section and
category.
In the Individual Excellence section, the emphasis was on having
the right technical skills and personal qualities to rise to
challenges in the industry.
For the first time this year, the skill profiling of entrants to
ensure they had the necessary professional and technical background
was done using a BCS skills template known as SFIAplus3, which is
based on the Skills Framework for the Information Age from the SFIA
Foundation.
Personal qualities were judged on how entrants had developed in
their careers in terms of broadening knowledge and experience by
taking on new challenges and participating in professional
activities outside their job.
"For example, how they have contributed to developing the
industry as a whole, to developing standards, or adding new
intellectual collateral to the industry," said section moderator
Peter Wheatcroft, founding director of service management
consultancy 4 Dimensions Partnership.
Entrants were also evaluated on the type of activity or project
they were working on. Judges looked at how innovative projects
were, how acceptable they were to the social and industrial
environment, and how well they had been taken up or become embedded
in the industry.
"Having a perspective of understanding the value of the work
they were doing and making sure the whole value was realised by
that initiative, was the biggest differentiator," said
Wheatcroft.
Managing the implementation of technology was another thing the
winners in all categories of the Individual Excellence section had
in common.
"Even though a lot of IT activity has gone overseas, the
management aspect has been retained in the UK," said Wheatcroft.
"We were also looking for an understanding of how the business
operated and an ability to translate that into an IT
implementation, particularly in the IT Leader and Business Analyst
categories."
In the Organisational Excellence section, judges were looking
for something that had made an impact on the organisation the IT
department was working for.
"We were looking for hard measurable ways the business had
improved," said section moderator
David Tidey, head of information systems at the royal borough of
Kensington and Chelsea, said: "The better IT departments are
measuring with standard IT metrics, which is good, but the really
good ones are measuring with business metrics. They can demonstrate
with facts and figures how a particular IT project has improved the
business."
Although judges considered innovation, relationships in the
organisation and the overall "wow factor" in equal measure,
contribution to business value was the most important criterion,
making up 60% of the marks.
"You can no longer just put PCs on the desk and have e-mail and
network systems that work, you have to be getting closer to the
business to really do well as an organisation. The ones that are
winning have got really good links with IT embedded in the
business," said Tidey.
In the Project Excellence section, judges scored entries in
terms of innovation, benefits and reputation. Here, innovation was
the most important criterion, making up a third of the marks.
Judges not only considered how the projects used new technology
or existing technology in new ways, but also how topical the
projects were in relating to events like the recent flooding in
large parts of the UK or in their use of green technology, which
was a new category introduced this year.
"Winning projects typically affect the way IT will work in the
future and can change people's perception of IT. We have always
looked for innovation because that is what keeps the profession
alive, what enables organisations to grow," said section moderator
Keith Taylor, fellow of the BCS.
"Benefits evaluated how much the project helped the business
that was using it and reputation considered how the project would
be perceived and how it might attract new people into the industry,
such as those projects that had to do with flood warning systems,
power saving in IT, or saving fuel by optimising the way staff
visit clients," said Taylor.
He emphasised the importance of showing the breadth of IT
projects across various industries and of improving the reputation
of IT. "The industry is struggling to attract people because many
do not realise that it is used in industry and other traditional
areas. Children in schools think IT is about games and other
consumer goods. That needs to change. Teachers in particular need
to understand there is a good career and jobs to be had in IT in
the UK," he said.
Just which companies and individuals were judged to have what it
takes to be a winner will be announced at the BCS IT Industry
Awards ceremony 2007 to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in
London on 6 December.